Williams & Connolly LLP's financial institutions practice grew out of the firm's representation of bankers in litigation. It now includes not just litigation but also counseling and advising - on a wide variety of issues - entities such as banks, saving institutions, credit unions, government-sponsored enterprises and investment banks, along with their officers, directors, shareholders, and lawyers.

We represent financial institutions in many of the same types of matters as we do other business clients, including representing lenders in financial transactions, conducting internal investigations, and devising compliance programs.

The firm structures and documents financial institution recapitalizations, often creating innovative strategies for capital infusions that preserve existing ownership stakes, satisfy capital requirements, and comply with securities laws. Our extensive collection experience ranges from identifying and pursuing assets of borrowers and guarantors to developing and implementing workout strategies.

Our lawyers counsel financial institutions and their owners, directors, officers, and lawyers on a wide variety of regulatory matters. These include safety and soundness issues, compliance with change in control and holding company laws and regulations, insider transaction rules, fiduciary duties, the Bank Secrecy Act, and currency transaction reporting obligations and ethics issues.

The firm has represented financial institutions and affiliated parties before all major regulatory agencies, including the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Office of Thrift Supervision, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the National Credit Union Administration. We have represented financial institutions in examinations, investigations, and administrative actions, including civil money penalty, cease and desist, removal and prohibition, and termination of insurance proceedings.